The present invention relates to an instrument panel construction including an instrument panel and at least one stay.
A known instrument panel construction is disclosed in Pages 158 and 159 of Service Periodical No. 401 (BL-6) "INTRODUCTION OF 910 SERIES" issued by NISSAN MOTOR COMPANY LIMITED. According to this known construction, as shown in FIG. 1 an instrument panel I of monoblock mold of synthetic resin is used. The instrument panel I has an upper edge IU adapted to be secured to mounting brackets 1a of a dash upper panel 1 of a vehicle body and side edges IS adapted to be secured to mounting portions 2a of front side pillars 2.
Mounted on the instrument panel I are constituent parts including, for example, an instrument pad 3, a meter cover 4, a glove box 5, a combination meter 6, a cluster lid 7, an ash tray 8, an air conditioner console panel 9 and a radio unit 10. Thus, the whole assembly heavy. There is, therefore, a tendency for the instrument panel I to bend downward due to its own weight because the instrument panel I is not structurally rigid enough to withstand this weight.
In order to reinforce the instrument panel against being bent downward, a pair of stays S are so arranged as to support the middle portion of the instrument panel I between the side edges IS by a vehicle body.
Describing now how to assemble the instrument panel construction and install it in the vehicle body referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the constituent parts are mounted on the instrument panel I, then the stays S are secured by bolts to the instrument panel I. This subassembly is carried to a vehicle assembly line where it is installed to a vehicle body. As best seen in FIG. 2, each of the stays S has an upper end secured to the mounting bracket 1a by bolt means 13 together with the upper edge IU of the instrument panel I and a lower end secured to a mounting bracket 11a by mounting screws 12, the mounting bracket 11a being secured to a tunnel portion 11 of a vehicle floor panel.
Although not seen in FIG. 2, each of the stays S is formed with two mounting screw receiving holes spaced in a longitudinal direction thereof, while the instrument panel I has two portions, each of which is formed with two mounting screw receiving holes. Each of these mounting holes is circular and has a diameter substantially equal to the corresponding one of mounting screws B. The stays S are secured to the instrument panel I by the mounting screws B, each extending through the holes formed in the stays S and the mating holes formed in the instrument panel I.
In FIG. 2, the reference numeral 15 designates a wire harness extending inside of the instrument panel I, the reference numeral 16 a front windshield, the reference numeral 17 a trim for concealing the margin of the windshield 16, the reference numeral 18 a garnish concealing a gap between the upper end of the instrument panel I and the windshield 16.
The subassembly where the stays S are rigidly secured to the instrument panel I presents a problem as follows. That is, once the side edges IS of the instrument panel I are secured to the mounting portions 2a (see FIG. 1) of the front side pillars 2 of the vehicle body, it is often experienced that the upper ends and/or lower ends of the stays S do not mate with the corresponding mounting brackets 1a and 11a of the vehicle body. This is because the locations of the mounting brackets 1a and 11a diverge transversely relative of the vehicle body from one vehicle body to another owing to an error which may take place in assembling each of the vehicle bodies in the assembly line. The upper and lower ends of the stays S, therefore, have to be secured to the mounting brackets 1a and 11a after pulling them transversely of the vehicle body till they mate with the mounting brackets. Pulling the upper and/or lower ends of the stays S causes the instrument panel I to deform at the junctions with the stays S. This deformation of the instrument panel I degrades the external appearance thereof and defeats a good mating relationship of the constituent parts with the instrument panel I.